Kukicha (Bancha Twig ) Tea and Calcium?

[beforewisdom]

I've seen sites on the web that claim that green Kukicha tea has a lot of calcium. The sites do not state how much calcium or who did the measuring.
The sites also do not mention the oxalic acid content which effects how much a person can absorb the calcium.

Does anyone have any information from decent sources about these issues?

[Kunkali]

I've read that too but couldn't verify it...if I chew the twigs it's got kinda a mouthfeel that I get if I chew calcium tablets *shrugs*

[beforewisdom]

It did make me read up on the tea a bit, which I found amusing. At the co-op where I bought some it was about $30 a pound. I read online that twig tea is what is left after the tea leaves are processed: scraps of leaves and the twigs cut small. So, what likely started as a peasant drink in Japan Americans end up paying a premium for.

LOL, I've seen that situation too much.

[Chip]

Indeed kukicha and its sis karigane are byproduct teas, and are also quite enjoyed in Japan. Nothing wrong with it.

There are good examples and bad examples, but same with sencha and gyokuro, right?

[entropyembrace]

$30 a pound is 6 cents per gram...less than 50 cents for a pot of tea

not really premium

also I really enjoy kukicha even next to much more expensive teas...they can be really good value because premium kukicha (karigane) is byproduct of high grade teas grown under good conditions and handled carefully.

though lower grade kukicha as byproduct of bancha is not as nice.

[beforewisdom]

Indeed kukicha and its sis karigane are byproduct teas, and are also quite enjoyed in Japan. Nothing wrong with it.

There are good examples and bad examples, but same with sencha and gyokuro, right?

I will have to take your word for it, as I am a tea newbie and still learning about basic terms like that. I just had my first cup of sencha last night, from that same co-op. I don't think I used enough tea. It smelled wonderful in the jar at the store, but I could hardly taste it in my cup. I will try 2 teaspoons in my cup today.

[beforewisdom]

.less than 50 cents for a pot of tea

Excellent point. I was bopping around some of those links to Japanese tea vendor sites you point out yesterday. Some of them wanted $30 per OUNCE for their teas. Even then, the cost per serving was less than the cost of some tall bottles of single serving diet sodas..............or anything from Starbucks.

also I really enjoy kukicha even next to much more expensive teas...they can be really good value because premium kukicha (karigane) is byproduct of high grade teas grown under good conditions and handled carefully.

Another good point. I've read that teas like Lipton and Red Rose are flat out "tea garbage"

[edkrueger]

$30 a pound is 6 cents per gram...less than 50 cents for a pot of tea

not really premium

also I really enjoy kukicha even next to much more expensive teas...they can be really good value because premium kukicha (karigane) is byproduct of high grade teas grown under good conditions and handled carefully.

though lower grade kukicha as byproduct of bancha is not as nice.

Actually, all kukicha is bancha. The kukicha/karigane distinction is purely marketing.

[beforewisdom]

What do the words mean?

I was introduced to it as "bancha twig tea" by a macrobiotic fan when I was in high school.

It has a "nostalgic" taste for me as a result. I think it is also a good starter tea as it has a heavier taste. Many new tea drinkers don't taste enough flavor in other green teas.

[edkrueger]

Bancha refers to all Japanese tea the is either second flush or a by product.
Types of Bancha:
Yanagi (2nd flush green tea)
Genmaicha (Yanagi or sencha mixed with toasted rice)
Hojicha (roasted tea)
Kukicha (twig tea; stems from fist flush)
Konacha/Gyokuroko/ Hanako (chopped buds and dust from sencha or gyokuro/chopped buds and dust from gyokuro/chopped buds and dust from sencha)

[entropyembrace]

Actually, all kukicha is bancha. The kukicha/karigane distinction is purely marketing.

So even stems from first flush sencha or gyokuro are bancha?

[rdl]

the use of bancha is not the same as ichibancha or nibancha. i know different regions of japan use different words, but bancha tends to signify the "ordinary" teas of later or bigger, more coarse leaves.
for example, hibiki-an offers karigane, which i thought is the kyoto region word for stem tea, but hibiki-does not say they carry any bancha tea.
a lot of the naming is very fluid in my understanding, but if you know your teas and know the particulars of what you're purchasing i don't think it is a question of marketing but rather just descriptive labels.
to correct myself, hibiki-an sells a houjicha which they call bancha but use ichiban tea for it. since houjicha falls under the bancha family they do sell a bancha tea, but a premium grade. but that's an example of the fluidity of these descriptions.

[entropyembrace]

Indeed kukicha and its sis karigane are byproduct teas, and are also quite enjoyed in Japan. Nothing wrong with it.

There are good examples and bad examples, but same with sencha and gyokuro, right?

I will have to take your word for it, as I am a tea newbie and still learning about basic terms like that. I just had my first cup of sencha last night, from that same co-op. I don't think I used enough tea. It smelled wonderful in the jar at the store, but I could hardly taste it in my cup. I will try 2 teaspoons in my cup today.

I bought some fairly expensive organic sencha (over $30 per 100g) from a local teashop once...it still had some aroma but the taste was severely lacking...I tried everything I could to try and get a stronger flavour out of it...only thing that worked was roasting it in a cast iron pan to make houjicha. I decided it just wasn´t worth buying sencha local, it goes stale too easily...sounds like you ran into the same problem.

[edkrueger]

Actually, all kukicha is bancha. The kukicha/karigane distinction is purely marketing.

So even stems from first flush sencha or gyokuro are bancha?

Correct.

[rdl]

Actually, all kukicha is bancha. The kukicha/karigane distinction is purely marketing.

So even stems from first flush sencha or gyokuro are bancha?

Correct.

i hope we can agree to disagree.